


Flames, Ablaze and Golden

by hyuckshot



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Fire Powers, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Making Out, Modern Setting, Neck Kissing, Superhuman, They have powers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, just a lot of kissing really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:06:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22129186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyuckshot/pseuds/hyuckshot
Summary: Donghyuck needs someone to cast his fears aside and keep the fire within him stable. Water and Fire aren’t the ideal pair, exact juxtapositions, yet Mark Lee was able to make him realize otherwise.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 17
Kudos: 299





	Flames, Ablaze and Golden

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! I’ve been working on this fic for the past few days. I know it’s not the best but I’ve always wanted to add more fics to the Markhyuck with super powers tag so here it is. I hope you take it easy on this fic, I really enjoyed writing it so I hope yall don’t mind. this is not beta read yet again, i’m sorry please bear with me. <3333

Donghyuck was on fire, quite literally so, his eyes reflected little dancing flames in them and his fingertips just similarly aflame. Short licks of fire were traveling down his arms, gently and slowly, as if they were raindrops gliding down window sills. His black shirt was sticking to his small frame, bangs disheveled as strong winds pushed him backwards. He glared deeper when Renjun, the main source of these strong winds, gave him a sheepish smile from the top of the ramp across the training grounds. Donghyuck raises his arm, concentrating all the energy he has left, to throw a ball of flame towards Renjun, but not before the other boy shoves him all the way backwards towards the mouth of the lake in a loud thump. Fireball completely extinguished as he lays on his back, eyes staring tiredly at the sun. It’s a friendly battle, one they always do. One that Donghyuck always loses to as well. Frowning at the thought of how unstable his energy was at the age of 19, he felt the need to get better. A bit more powerful, a bit more stronger. It wasn’t a secret that he was going to take over the Fire clan once his father stepped down and of what leader would he be if he was even more unstable than their youngest trainee, Zhong Chenle.  _What an embarrassment._ Pushing his thoughts away when a hand waved in front of his face, offering to get him up from the slumps of slightly wet ground. He accepts. 

“You’re clearly not focusing enough” Renjun states as if Donghyuck hasn’t noticed himself that indeed, he, himself is very unfocused and unstable at this point, “what are you even bothered about?”

“I’m just feeling hungry, it’s all”  _Fucking devastated actually _, but Donghyuck would never say that out loud. Not when all his friend does is puff out his silver hair out of his eyes and drag him out the field towards the cafeteria where bodies of bodies of students are rushing in and out, giving Donghyuck a headache he never asked for. 

Once they were seated at their usual table, Renjun propped his chin at the palm of his hands, “You know, Jeno and Jaemin have been telling me about this little get together-“ 

“Party” Donghyuck rolls his eyes.

“Okay,  party”  Renjun mocks, “that the swim team is holding at their dorms, they were wondering if you wanted to come with?”

“I can’t” Donghyuck answers without hesitation, “if I continue to skip my manners lecture with Doyoung, father is going to cut my head off.”

“But you’ve already missed like five parties in honor of Doyoung hyung” Renjun argues and before he could go on with his lecture on why Donghyuck should skip his manners lecture, as if on cue, Chenle and Jisung approached the table. 

“For Donghyuckie hyung” Chenle says, handing out another half of a popsicle stick, he must’ve already eaten his half, “to cool off” he adds.

Donghyuck gladly takes it, knowing the younger one never forgets to bring him cold beverages or food to help him cool off when he knows the older had just returned from a mock battle. It’s another thing he loves about the younger ones, they can be annoying, what with the teasing and all, but they have the softest spots for their older friends whether they’d admit it out loud or not. Chenle was of the Fire clan while Jisung was from the Shadow clan. Donghyuck always found the clan as one of the coolest, controlling shadows and lurking around the dark, always quiet and timid. Completely opposite to Jisung who practically thrived in the sun but still, quite quiet at times. That is, if he’s away from Chenle. 

Donghyuck sneaks a glance towards the other side of the table where the Water clan sat, only to see Mark Lee already staring back at him. The older gives a sheepish smile before shying away to shift his attention to the topic their group was talking about. Yukhei’s laughter rings in Donghyuck’s ears as with the muffled protests of Xiaojun and Yangyang. His father has always told him not to meddle with the Water clan because of how chaotic they are but, this was good chaotic. Fun chaotic?  Is that a thing?  He always thought his father meant, war chaotic, that the Water clan was nothing but a group of arrogant and selfish manipulators. Somehow, Mark Lee’s little smiles and glances sent his way in the cafeteria and classes they pass by each other tell him otherwise. 

Not long after Jisung and Chenle arrived, came Jaemin. He sat beside Renjun while they get lost in conversation somewhere along the lines of “ _Jeno was thinking about going to.._.” before Donghyuck’s attention was then again distracted by the windows of the cafeteria. Now flooded with gray clouds and the pitter patter of gentle rain. It’s not like Donghyuck was not allowed to get wet, how would he shower? It’s the mere fact that water did in fact make him feel uncomfortable. Ironically, he liked the thought of the beach, water and snow which is a total juxtaposition of his entire being. Before letting his thoughts wander any further, he glances at Renjun, who in turn gave him a questioning look.

“Does this mean no swimming class?” Donghyuck asked with a little bit of hope in his voice, “I mean, it’s raining and swimming while raining would be awful.”

“The swimming pool is covered, Hyuck, what are you going on about?” Jaemin answers. He knows the other would just go on about how it’s just because he’s from the Fire clan which means he hates every bit of water so Donghyuck decides to drop it.

“You can just steam it off later, hyung” Chenle tries to cheer him up, sending a sympathetic smile. Unlike Donghyuck, Chenle was way comfortable with water and anything really. Donghyuck would like to think of him as the Golden child of the Fire clan. Fully capable of managing everything and keeping things under control. 

“You’re right” Donghyuck smiles, “that I can.” 

Donghyuck ended up struggling with his back pressed against the wall and his hands covered by a bubble of water pinned on his sides.  _Great_ ,  not even an hour into the class, he’s already managed to get himself in trouble. Well, to his defense, he didn’t start it. Donghyuck feels the heat crippling through his skin as fire starts to burn within him. He furrows his eyebrows, as the flames start to dance in his eyes once again. Concentrating his energy, he’s managed to build up enough to try and steam the bubble off of his hands. Evaporation being the best strategy at this point. Just as the other boy backs off as if he’s burnt, their gym teachers comes in. Completely, utterly confused on all the ruckus.

“Lee Donghyuck!” he calls out, “I’ll have you know this is the territory of water benders.” he states accusingly. “You can’t go around burning people and expect to get away with it.” 

“With all due respect Mr. Park, I did’t start it.” he answers just in time as the other boy says, “Yeah, flames, don’t go around burning innocent people.”

He takes a double look at the other, hissing, “You goddamn-“

“Language!” Mr. Park cuts off in an annoyed expression, “You’re lucky you didn’t get Chan burnt, so I’ll lower down your offense. Clean the pool after this session, flames.” 

_Flames_.  Donghyuck’s scowl deepens as the other boy lets out the most obnoxious laugh, walking off to his friends. None of his friends had the same gym class as he was so there was no Renjun to give them the stink eye, no Jaemin to fight off with him and no Jeno to rub comforting circles on his back. Again, it’s not like he’s entirely afraid of water, it’s just uncomfortable. Plus, having Jeno as the only water bender he’s friends with, he doesn’t really know how to get along with the others. Say, except maybe for Mark. They weren’t even acquaintances but he always sends Donghyuck little smiles. He knows it’s just the elder’s nature, being nice and polite. He knows being popular doesn’t always mean being an ass and that’s why Mark was different. He was nice to everyone, even his admirers.  _Wait_. _Oh, no._ What if Mark was nice to Donghyuck because he thought he liked him? Well, that’s not ideal now is it? He’d look like a major creep.  _Oh, god, no._

Once swimming ended, Donghyuck decides to steam off the water dripping from his body, deciding to keep his swimming trunks on and just put on his shirt. He’ll just fix himself after cleaning. He grabs the cleaning net with a scowl on his face, which never seemed to leave throughout the session anyway. He thinks it’s ridiculous, having to clean an indoor swimming pool with a cleaning net for leaves. He rolls his eyes thinking, why can’t Earth clan people just keep their leaves to themselves. Now Donghyuck has to clean their mess. One particular pile of leaves were stuck near the middle of the pool and as much as Donghyuck hated to admit, his height wasn’t the best help now that he has to clean it. Maybe he needs to dip himself down the water a bit.  _No_.  Donghyuck never gets in the water without supervision. Not even just his feet, he wouldn’t risk it. He thought of just leaving it behind, though, the thought of having to clean after another session because of the mess he left was bothering him so he continued to think again anyway. Maybe he could just try his best to reach out to it? _Sounds good enough._ Tipping his toes on the edge of the pool’s gutters, Donghyuck starts to lift the long cleaning net in his hands in order to capture the lump of leaves. 

Just a bit more.

Closer.

“Ha!” he gasps in triumph, simultaneously and unknowingly slipping against the gutter and falling into the pool with a big splash. 

The small hiss of his skin against the cold water is enough to drive Donghyuck further into a fit of panic. Not knowing how to calm his nerves, Donghyuck kicks his legs around and tries to grab whatever he can with his hands, yet not finding anything to hold onto. He fails. The uncomfortable feeling of cold against his warm skin makes him feel uneasy, along with the thought of not having anyone to save him from this mess. Slowly losing his breath as time runs, he tries to even out his heartbeat, stopping the kick of his legs and the struggle of his arms. He tries to think of a way to save himself and comes out with none. Panic starts to surge in his veins once again. He can’t die like this. This is a death that would bring nothing but embarrassment to his father and his clan. He’s too young to die too. He wants to cry, maybe even sob but how does one cry underwater? He’s in a matter of life and death and he’s thinking about crying underwater? _Ridiculous_! Just as he feels like letting his breath go into a blow of bubbles, a pair of arms circle around his waist, hoisting him steadily above water like lightweight and the first thing Donghyuck does is gasp for air, not caring about how he looked like a vacuum. He’ll worry about that later.

Eyes still closed, as the rest of his body was still in water, he feels one hand let go of his waist to push the stray hair sticking to his forehead away, “are you okay?”

“you’re not seriously asking me that right now, are you?” Donghyuck grits through his teeth, shutting his eyes further, not wanting to face his embarrassment. He feels his fingertips burning and he’s sure if he opens his eyes, little flames are already reflecting on his pupils. 

“I actually am” the mystery guy answers nonchalantly, “You can stand now, by the way” he adds. Donghyuck feels the tips of his ears burn once the bottom of his feet reach the tiled floors, the water didn’t even reach his chin and he was thinking of his death just mere minutes ago. 

The mystery guy chuckles and Donghyuck decides it’s time to threaten him with his blazing eyes. Although the moment he opens his eyes, he feels the water surge around him, build up into a makeshift wave, lifting him towards the gutter. Safe. Out of the water, yet his feet still dangling on the edge. His eyes land on the source of the waves only to find the same set of eyes that glance at him at the most unexpected times. His stomach does something weird. 

“Mark Lee” he introduces himself, as if there’s anyone in the entire university who doesn’t know, “What’s a fire bender doing in the swim team’s pool?” 

“Not my choice exactly” he says defeatedly but not without a hint of feistiness. He is Lee Donghyuck after all, “it’s Lee Donghyuck.” 

“I know” he says short yet deeper and it makes Donghyuck’s heart constrict. He secretly tells it to calm down and loosen up before he does anything stupid in front of the elder, “Cleaning duty?”

Donghyuck shrugs. 

They stay quiet for a couple of seconds, Donghyuck contemplating whether he should take the leave or Mark should take the leave. Either way, one of them had to leave in order of Donghyuck to dry himself. Just like Mark heard him, his eyes widen as he gets out of the water himself, “Oh, I- uh, my bad. You’re shivering, should I get you a towel or clothes-“ 

“I’ll just steam it off” Donghyuck blurts out of panic, leaving the older to stop his own stuttering to stare at Donghyuck with a questioning gaze. 

“What?”

“I mean”, he starts again, his cheeks heating up this time in embarrassment.This time he feels Mark smile upon noticing, “Steam, fire bender perks, you know. Uhm, evaporation?” he tries some more, “Just, never mind.” 

Donghyuck sighs defeatedly again, lifting his legs off the pool to cross them one over the other as he sits on the floor. He looks down on his lap, concentrating on his energy as he feels the familiar prickling heat on his skin, warmth, comfortable. Mark watched in awe as steam radiates off of the boy in front of him. The droplets of water once on his skin, now evaporating into puffs of steam in the air. Mark watches as Donghyuck’s cheeks tint a new shade of darker pink as he continues to dry himself off. He wasn’t entirely sure whether he should be leaving or if the boy had anything to say after he finishes drying off, so Mark kept quiet to himself and watched with amusement as Donghyuck paid him no mind. It was something in Donghyuck that made Mark stay. Maybe it was his flame that drew him in. His burning gaze and the way he looked like he had everything under control. Maybe it’s the way he laughs and acts carefree when he’s around his friends. Maybe it’s when Donghyuck had not a single clue how Mark always glances at him when he passes by the younger’s class or somewhere in the cafeteria. Right now though, right now Mark thinks it’s the blush creeping on his cheeks, his eyelashes fanning over his cheekbones, the crease on his forehead, the furrow of his eyebrows and his pursed lips. 

Mark doesn’t realize he was staring for too long until Donghyuck opens his eyes to reveal what Mark had expected, the small flames dancing around his pupils, blown wide and bright. Donghyuck, like this, looks dazed yet sharp, intimidating yet intriguing. He pulls Mark closer like a firefly towards the flame. 

“I should go” Donghyuck mumbles, averting his gaze away from Mark’s, “Thank you by the way. It was embarrassing, I know, but thank you. I’ll see you around, Mark.”

Mark nods in agreement because he can’t seem to voice his thoughts.  _It’s no problem at all._ _I wanted to save you after all_.  Nothing came out. Not even when Donghyuck retreated towards the exit, not giving Mark a second glance. Strong. Feisty. Brave. Ablaze. Fearless. Mark wants to believe so. 

“Come on, hyung, aim properly!” Chenle screams from his spot above a tree. Donghyuck lets out the loudest groan of frustration as his hands burst out with flames, licking all the way to his elbows, “How are you going to rule a clan with that kind of aim?”

“Shut up, golden boy, before I turn you into a fried orange.” 

Chenle pouts along with an offended  _hey!_ before jutting his lower lip out. He jumps down from the tree perfectly. Raising a finger to send a little yet sharp ball of fire towards Donghyuck. The pellet like fire ball hits his arm with a sting, before it evens out with his temperature and heals by itself. Donghyuck was about to send a pellet back at Chenle when his own shadow betrays him by moving on his own. Confused for a second, he’s left frozen in place. Until he realizes the shadow was now reaching out towards his hand to stop him from moving any further.  _Jisung_. 

“Fine, I’ll play nice. You can let me go now.” Donghyuck states with an eye roll. After this, Jisung appears from behind the same tree Chenle was just sitting on a couple of minutes back. “Are you guys leaving?”

“Yup, I’m leaving you to your own senses, hyung. Please aim well this time. You have all the time in the world today,” Chenle almost but pleads Donghyuck to get his shit together. Which Donghyuck only shrugs off pretending to be nonchalant. 

Once Donghyuck was left to his own senses. He stares up in the sky, pushing his dark hair away from his eyes to glare back at the sun that shone upon him. He sighs in defeat for no reason at all, he falls down on the ground, legs tucked beneath him. He sure does feel defeated. He shuts out the whispers of his mind to listen to his environment, to listen to his heartbeat, to listen to what the world wants to say. He shuts his eyes close. Again, he feels defeated. Silence. Comfortable silence. He loved the silence. He thinks about water. The sound of waves as it crashes against the surface. The dripping of rain against window sills during down pour. He thinks of the many times he’s poured his father hot water for his tea. He thinks of the silence underneath water. It’s calming yet leaves him anxious. It’s comforting yet the thought of meddling with the ocean scares him. Suddenly he thinks of a pair of arms wrapping around his waist, hoisting him up from his devastation. He feels cold hands brush the hair sticking to his forehead. He hears the voice he hears every once in a while when speeches are held by the student council. He feels hot tears trickling down his cheeks, leaving him clueless, leaving him to doubt just why the hell he’s crying at a moment like this. Why does he feel so defeated? So tired? So weak all of a sudden. Why does he feel empty? Longing? Longing for something that wasn’t even there in the first place. Who was Lee Donghyuck to long for something he never had? 

“Donghyuck” he startles, the voice coming from behind him. Recognizing it immediately as Doyoung’s voice, he scrambles up on his feet and wipes the tears with the back of his hands before facing his lecturer. “Come with me, quick.” he says in urgency.

“What’s going on, hyung?” he asks with confusion, “Did father ask for an immediate lecture because he thinks I’m not occupied by anything?” 

“Donghyuck.” he says sternly. _Too stern,_ Donghyuck thinks. “Your father, he’s not in a good condition. He has been in bed all day trying to get his limbs to move but it’s no use. I’m afraid...” 

“He might be leaving soon” Donghyuck whispers as if it’s something forbidden.

“I believe so” Doyoung answers in a similar hushed tone, “Please avoid going to parties, Donghyuck. Focus on school and ignore the distractions sent your way. Focus on fire bending, the Fire clan needs a leader.” 

“I know. I’m trying.”

“Please don’t try. Do it as you must.”

Donghyuck runs. Donghyuck runs as fast as he can. He runs blindly into the woods after his father tells him he’s dreamt of forest fires, of innocent lives and chaos surrounding two different clans. Clans of exact opposite traits. Contrasting one another. Donghyuck, _oh_ poor Donghyuck, cannot help but think of it as the Fire and Water clan. So he runs. He continues to run even as he hears the the crackling of fire around him, the snapping of twigs beneath his feet and smell of smoke suffocating him. It was not supposed to smell like that in the woods.  Something isn’t right. 

He looks around, to his horror, the path he’s taken is completely ablaze. His father begged him not to leave his side, his father begged for his son to trust him. That none of this would happen if he stays. If he lets his father calm him down. But Donghyuck ran. He ran out of cowardice from his duties. He ran from anxiety. He ran away from his responsibilities. His cowardice giving him an even bigger responsibility he’s not sure he can handle. Donghyuck tries to manipulate the fire, tone it down a bit, get it under control. He’s seen Doyoung do it before. His hands were too clammy, too warm, the heat coming from the forest fire and from his own being too much. He cannot bring his mind to tone down the heat when he himself was on fire. It only seemed to worsen the scenario as the pits of fire grew bigger traveling even faster from one tree to another. The tears building up in his eyes, threatening to spill, felt hot enough so he shuts his eyes. Letting the tears fall once and for all. He cries a repeated mantra of _sorry_ and _forgive me’s_ as he watches the forest fire spread out. Slowly, with much terror, he walks backwards. From afar, he hears the muffled screams of people panicking. He hears them calling out their loved ones seeking for a safe place to stay. He knew he was doomed when he heard screams of fire. In defeat, he curls himself up into a ball, hugging his knees to his chest, his head stooped low in the middle of the woods with none of the Fire clam to protect him nor fix the mess he’s made. 

“Put it out!” someone screams, “Water benders, put out the fire!” the voice continues.

Donghyuck braces himself for what’s to come. His father always told him that responsibilities hurt like a bitch. He thought he’d be prepared for it by now but as the water benders abused the fire with cool water, Donghyuck feels a stinging pain across his arms and a ringing in his head. He didn’t mean to catch their attention but he manages to yelp out in pain as one big splash puts out one of his fires. It completely leaves a tree or two in ashes.

“Donghyuck?” he hears a familiar voice question out loud, “Stop! Everyone, stop it. You’re hurting him.” 

“Mark don’t get too close now, his fire is unstable.” one of the men gritted out with nothing but pure range. Donghyuck can’t bring himself to be scared when he was too busy hurting, squeezing a patch of burnt skin against his wrists. This is what his father meant by responsibility hurting like a son of a bitch. 

Mark crouches down to Donghyuck’s level, peering in front of the younger to further get a glimpse of his face. Mark gives him a knowing smile before he allows himself to uncurl his own personal space to look at Mark. 

“You wanna talk about it?” he asks as gentle as he can.

Donghyuck only shakes his head no, hugging himself further, hiding from the accusing stares of the people from the Water clan. Mark sits beside him comfortably, humming in response, “the fire’s getting bigger, but it’s not spreading out to the villages yet.”

Donghyuck knows this.

“It means you still have control over it,” he smiles, “if you calm your nerves, you can put it out all by yourself without causing any trouble.” 

“I’ve already caused trouble, can’t you see?” Donghyuck hisses in frustration, arms wrapped around himself getting tighter. The villagers with Mark stand on guard, waiting for Donghyuck to burst, “I’m... I can’t” he shakes once more. 

Fresh tears trickle down Donghyuck’s face as he tries to suppress the need to run away once again, but he’s already caused too much and he doesn’t need a bigger responsibility, “there’s nothing you can’t do, trust me.” 

Mark lifts a hand up, hesitantly reaching to cup Donghyuck’s cheeks in his hand. He thumbs out the tears leaving tracks on the younger’s cheeks and smiles his usual smile. Donghyuck, can’t help the bubbling feeling in his stomach. “I’m scared.” 

Mark’s facial expression changes into a softer one, one with understanding, one that is knowing. His forehead creases as is stares back at Donghyuck. He wonders what the younger is thinking, he wonders what else he’s feeling, he wants to know. He wants to know more of Donghyuck. Behind the boy he always sees as the sun with his personality ablaze, Mark wants to see him. 

“Hey, come on, breathe,” Mark leads the younger, “in and out now, that’s right. Calm down, you’ll be fine. I promise.” 

Donghyuck struggles to follow Mark’s instructions but the older seemed to notice this, hand leaving Donghyuck’s cheek, he holds onto both his hands. Mark rubs comfortable circles on the back of his hand as he tries to get Donghyuck to start breathing properly. At the other end, the villagers notice the forest fires starting to calm down. Fire no longer filled with anger. Mark continues to do this until he asks Donghyuck to close his eyes and focus on being one with the fire. Put out his fear and anger, along with this, comes the extinguishing of the forest fire. With Donghyuck’s eyes closed, Mark starts to stare in awe once again. He knows people who’ll see them would say he looks at Donghyuck like a firefly attracted to flame. Maybe he is, technically speaking anyway, Donghyuck is the flame. The younger starts to further calm down simultaneously putting out the fire he has caused.

Mark smiles with blooming pride in his chest as the younger’s breath evens out. The surrounding smells of ashes and smoke. Around them, the people let out sighs of relief as they take in the mess left by the son of the Fire clan’s leader. The trees have so long lived and left in ashes, the place brings nothing but silence apart from the breathing of both Mark and Donghyuck as Mark stares at the boy in front of him. 

“It’s gone now” Mark whispers softly. 

He sees Donghyuck’s forehead crease as he struggles to open his eyes. His eyes adjust to the light around the woods, still brimming with tears. He stares at Mark with hesitation as they both have not a word to say to one another. Donghyuck contemplates whether to say sorry or thank Mark and Mark contemplates whether he’s supposed to say thank you for stopping the fire or comfort the younger. Before any of them can form words at all, a voice all too familiar sends them away from each other. 

“Lee Donghyuck,” his father’s voice bounces off the forest floors. It pains to see him, it pains Donghyuck even more to know that his father is in poor condition yet traveled all the way to fix his mess. He supports himself with a cane as the village councils stand by him, “the mess you made. Water clan, I deeply apologize for the trouble my son has caused, he is still in training. If there is any way we can make amends, we will comply.”

“I don’t think there will be a problem at all, the forest fire didn’t reach the villages nor did it harm anyone,” Mark speaks up, standing with bravery as he faces Donghyuck’s father, but the humbleness is there. The understanding is still there. 

“And you are?” Donghyuck’s father asks, not to intimidate but with pure curiosity. 

“Donghyuck’s friend, sir, youngest son of the Water clan’s leader.”

Donghyuck stares at Mark as he mentions his father. Realization hits him suddenly. He thinks about how composed Mark is, how reserved, how calm and under control. How he has his powers all under his command. He knows how to comfort his people, he knows how to lead, and Donghyuck? Donghyuck thinks he’s starting to fall in deep. 

His father nods at Mark after he regards his father, he says they’ll have to talk soon about serious matters one that Donghyuck and Mark are too young to be involved in. Donghyuck finds it ironic how his father treats him like a kid, yet he leaves the responsibility of the clan on Donghyuck’s shoulders. They bid their goodbyes as Donghyuck dusts the rest of his clothes off, ashes over ashes staining his black jeans. He sneaks one last bow towards Mark and his people before following his father back towards the end of the forest. Donghyuck is surprised to see that upon exiting the forest, a mobile waits for them, clear as day is the smile on Doyoung’s face as he grips the steering wheel. 

“Aren’t you upset about what I’ve done?” Donghyuck asks with a shy voice. 

Everyone takes a seat inside the mobile, the two councils, his father, and himself. He shuffles closer to Doyoung, taking the passenger’s seat. “That was quite a stunt you pulled out there, kid. I doubted you’d make it out alive. Clearly, I am upset” he sighs, “but I’m glad you had it under control. You managed to put out the fire on your own, Hyuck. That’s a big step.” 

Donghyuck looks back at the older and Doyoung must’ve noticed the questioning look Donghyuck is giving him which is why he sends the younger a reassuring smile. It was so genuine that Donghyuck could not help letting a few tears fall down from his eyes. He frowned upon noticing and wiped his tears angrily, looking out at the window. He feels as though he’s had enough crying today. He feels accomplished. It was a mess but he feels accomplished. Although, one thing everyone failed to notice was that Donghyuck never did it alone. Donghyuck didn’t put out the fire alone because Mark was there with him. Mark saved him for a second time in a row. Donghyuck is falling. He’s falling deeper. 

That night when Donghyuck’s father warns him about the conditions to make amends with the Water clan, Donghyuck does his best to be brave. He tries his best to understand that these are consequences of what he’s done. His own responsibilities creeping on him because he was reckless. Young and reckless, that’s what he is. He falls in a deep slumber after that, dreaming if a knowing smile and cold hands pressed against the warm skin of his cheek. 

“Hey.” 

“Hi, friend.” Donghyuck mocks, hinting Mark’s introduction when he met Donghyuck’s father. 

Donghyuck was sitting alone with his thoughts focused on the little fireball floating above his palm when Mark sits beside him. His hair was disheveled from the campus winds, he seems to notice Donghyuck staring at his hair, so he covers his head with his hoodie. It makes him look comfortable, Donghyuck thinks. 

“Oh, come on. Aren’t we? I’ve saved your life twice now.” Mark jokes, chuckling lowly when he sees the smile on Donghyuck’s face, “Maybe you’re not my friend, maybe you’re my savior then.” Donghyuck answers cheekily. 

Mark smiles at this, staring at his lap. He hangs his head low, Donghyuck doing the same while fumbling with his fingers, “I’m not a stable fire bender.” 

Mark doesn’t react, “I don’t need you to come to the rescue all the time but I thank you for coincidentally being around when I’m in the brink of dying,” Donghyuck says genuinely. He knows Mark is listening, he has his heart out on his sleeves and he’s ready for the million thank you’s he’s been willing to give. 

“I don’t have anything that could ever repay you for your kindness towards me, you barely know me, but I’m grateful for your help.” Donghyuck says in one breath, “As you probably know, I’m scared of water but I guess since my savior thrives in water, I might have to like it somehow. The only thing I can offer you is my friendship then.” 

Mark looks up at this, a full grin plastered on his mouth, “I’ll take that friendship then. It’s a take it or leave it situation, and I’ll take it any day.” 

Donghyuck feels his stomach flip with how happy Mark genuinely looks. He’s glad he’s made the other smile this way. His turned green, turquoise hair, falling over his eyes. Eyes twinkling as he looks at Donghyuck. It makes his heart full. Maybe Donghyuck would combust.

“You want to see something cool?”

Donghyuck nods. Mark hesitates at first, but then he proceeds to reach out for Donghyuck’s palm, facing it towards his own. Donghyuck holds out his palm as Mark hovers his own over his. He sends Donghyuck a reassuring smile before the younger gasps feeling something cool against his skin. The fire bender stares in anticipation as Mark does his work. He watches as the other’s eyebrows furrow in concentration, eyes focused and energy concentrated. The feeling on Donghyuck’s hand is cold slush, kind of wet but cool. 

Mark looks up at Donghyuck with a grin before removing his palm from hovering above the other’s. Donghyuck stares wide eyed at the little lump of white on his palm. It looks like cotton but Donghyuck knows better. “It’s a little snowman.”

“Yeah. Cool, right? I learned making snow a couple days back.” 

“It’s amazing.” Donghyuck laughs in disbelief and amusement, “Father never lets me go out during winter. The cold makes me uncomfortable, same with water.”

The other’s expression falls, “it makes you uncomfortable because you make it to be uncomfortable. Try melting the snow.” 

“Wouldn’t that hurt you?” but Mark only shakes his head no. 

Donghyuck fills his palms with small flames, small enough to wrap the little snowman’s body around the fiery pit in his hands. In less than a few seconds, it starts melting in his hands, turning into nothing but water in his palms. Before the water evaporates into nothing, Mark twirls his index finger, allowing the water in Donghyuck’s palm to swirl around with a gentle swoosh. The water rises before it captures the whole of Donghyuck’s flames inside something akin to a cage made out of water. Slowly but gently, Donghyuck’s fire starts to disappear. Mark managing to put it out without leaving burns or hurting Donghyuck at the process. The water licks through Donghyuck’s fingers then up to his elbows, before it lands in one drop on the ground beneath them. 

“You put out the fire.” Donghyuck says dumbly, “Without hurting me.”

“Because you let me.”

Seeing the confusion on Donghyuck’s face, Mark continues, “Mom used to tell me that fire and water actually belonged together. I never believed in it because they were complete opposites. Now that I’ve seen it for myself, I guess they do complement each other somehow, all it takes is a little courage.”

He averts his gaze from Donghyuck, “Water can succumb to fire, fire may succumb to water. You have to balance it out. Find something that you agree on, something in common, then that’s where you’ll understand how fire and water work.”

“Mark...”

The other only hums in response, refusing to look at the younger’s eyes.

“What do we have in common?” 

“I don’t know, Hyuck, we’ll figure it out soon.” It was vague, Donghyuck knows Mark has an idea what they have in common. His smile gives it away. He knows what they both feel yet they refuse to say it out loud and make it a common point. 

Eventually, Donghyuck finds his father getting better and better each day. The water clan has finally made amends, apparently, the leader of the water clan had beaten up his son for tolerating a fire bender. It was news for Donghyuck, but when he texts Mark that night, he tells him not to worry and it was nothing he could not handle. Mark tells him that he was able to convince his father to act rationally and avoid starting a war because the fire meant no harm anyway, it was not a request for war but a mere accident. His father was enraged but he managed to calm him down by telling his father about the twinkling eyes of the fire bender, the tear tracks down his cheeks, his soft golden skin, his dark hair, the flame in his eyes, his soft lips, the way he says thank you every time Mark saves him. Mark would never tell Donghyuck this, but he told his father what he feels for the fire bender, which saved him from the war to come. Which gave way to a promise of a new alliance in the future.

“Does he feel the same way, son?”

“I believe so.”

Donghyuck aims at three targets, sending three medium sized fireballs towards its direction. He lets his smug smile plaster on his face as each one hits a bullseye. Chenle cheers from his seat on the bleachers, along with their friends and other students. He wanted to pass this test and the new found confidence thriving in his veins made it easier for him to focus on each obstacle. He runs past the targets, heading to the makeshift valley, it’s literally just the gymnasium pool. He needs to swim across the pool to test his agility in water where tires are floating around in zigzag manner and Donghyuck needs to get through it. His throat runs dry at the thought of water and swimming across the stretch of the pool. He feels his palms sweat so his eyes mindlessly searches around the crowd. Just as expected, Mark sits amongst his group of friends, who were watching intensely. He gives Donghyuck a small nod and an encouraging thumbs up, and it’s all it takes for Donghyuck to take the fall and fill the hiss of his skin against cool water. He chokes on water every now and then as he struggles to catch his breath, despite this, he manages to get across the stretch of the pool and onto the other side. This is the part where most students fail. They get too soaked to move and to function, so Donghyuck takes his time to steam the water off of himself. Students from other clans watch in awe as the water disappears from his skin and evaporates into thin air. He quickly runs down the few set of stairs before catching a glimpse of the path ahead of him. Dummies scatter across the place, he has to get through them to test his agility on land, whilst something akin to tennis balls are sent right at him. Donghyuck grunts before he runs. He runs across dummies, avoiding blocked paths, avoiding stopping for too long. Every ball sent his way turns to ash beneath his feet, caring less about how it creates a mess, he continues to run. That is until he faces a glass like cubicle which blocks him from the timer. He tries to reach out for it but the glass like cubicle made of water refrains his hands from doing so. He tries to punch the surface but nothing happens. He tries many times yet he fails, he wonders how other’s passed this test. He even tries to turn the water glass into steam and evaporate the whole thing, yet he as unable to do so. It just keeps growing back. 

“Hey, I want to pass this thing, this is the farthest I’ve come since and it’s a big step for me. Please, please let me get to the timer. Come on, I love water.” Donghyuck mumbles, taking a deep breath after. He lets the flames lick through his skin and wrap his hand in flames. He sets his hand on the glass gently, closing his eyes, focusing on his energy. The fire spreads from his hand towards the cubicle, without him noticing, the cubicle is now covered in flames. Everyone’s eyes reflecting orange and red as Donghyuck lets the water succumb to his flames. After he feels the connection, he tones his flames down, as the flames collapse back into his hand came the cool water. As though the water had succumb to the fire and stuck itself on Donghyuck’s flames, completely disintegrating. Donghyuck gasps when he opens his eyes after he quickly puts the timer to a stop. 3 minutes and 17 seconds, it says. Beside the time plasters the words on caps, “PASSED” and Donghyuck has never heard himself scream in triumph as loud as he ever did before. 

Let the water succumb to fire and let the fire succumb to water.

He runs towards the hallways after his grade has been marked on his professor’s score board. The smile plastered on his face never leaves, it only gets even wider when he sees a familiar water bender walking on the other side of the hall, a similar smile plastered on his face. Once they meet in the middle though, Donghyuck had not a clue what to do with his hands so he clasps them behind his back. His black suit made for training hugging uncomfortable around his form. He’d never say it out loud but Mark likes Donghyuck this way, love how the suit hugs his small waist, his form and built. Donghyuck looks tiny like this, yet feisty and cat-like. 

Not expecting Mark to do anything, Donghyuck is taken aback when Mark wraps his arms around the younger’s waist, pulling him close and flush to his chest, “you should’ve seen yourself out there.” 

Donghyuck hangs his head low, blush creeping on his cheeks, he unclasps his hands from his back to settle them on Mark’s shoulders. “I passed.” he says proudly.

“I know,” the older answers, “I’m proud of you.” 

There was a moment of silence where they just stared at each other. Same thoughts running on both their minds. Donghyuck loving the way Mark’s eyes sparkle, similar to that of a lion cub or a little kitten. Mark marvels at how Donghyuck’s skin glows under the faint light of the halls, how his lips part and how his eyes have flames dancing in them, quite literally so. He realizes Donghyuck only has flames in his eyes when he’s feeling something extreme, something overwhelming, and Mark wants to know. 

“What are you feeling?”

“I’m... like I...”  _fuck, just say it_ ,  “Like I want to kiss you,” 

The tint on Donghyuck’s cheeks turn into a darker shade of pink as Mark nods with a low chuckle escaping his lips. Now, Donghyuck wants to kiss him even more. Mark can’t help the ridiculous bubbling feeling in his chest as Donghyuck has yet again stunned him. “There’s our common point then, sunshine.” 

Mark feels Donghyuck’s grip on his shoulders tighten so he rubs comforting circles on the younger’s hips with his thumb. He smoothes out the younger’s nerves, moving toward his grip on his shoulders, to uncurl his hands and hook them around Mark’s neck. He encircles his arms around Donghyuck’s waist again, but not before rubbing his sides in comfort, he pulls him closer the same time he presses their lips together.

They both sigh into the kiss, Donghyuck completely unresponsive to Mark’s movements. Noticing this, Mark smiles and bites the younger’s lower lip, eliciting a small groan from the back of his throat, “move.” 

Donghyuck frowns before pressing his lips back against Mark’s, warmth and cold lashing together as their lips move in perfect coordination. They both had their eyes closed and Mark dreads, Mark dreads how Donghyuck’s body suit hinders him from slipping his hands under the younger’s shirt to feel his warmth and the smooth of his skin. Mark groans in frustration, licking into Donghyuck’s lips when the younger gasps all of a sudden, his hands traveling up to Mark’s hair, tugging at the ends, seemingly driving Mark on the edge. 

“You’re ruining me, Hyuck,” Mark whispers against his lips. His hot breath fans over Donghyuck’s lips as his lips brush past the younger’s own, “can I take you out for dinner?” 

“Are you asking me out on a date?” Donghyuck teases.

“Do you want it to be a date?” Mark teases back with a smug smile on his face.

“Maybe” he manages to squeak out as Mark pulls him even closer than they were before. 

“Lee Donghyuck, you’ve got yourself a date then.” 

Donghyuck can’t help the smile creeping into his lips, so he takes it as a time to dive back in and kiss Mark once on his lips, “ruining me, Hyuck, definitely.” he mumbles against the skin on Donghyuck’s neck. He leaves sweet kisses along Donghyuck’s jaw and down to his neck, where a sweet sound from the back of the younger’s throat comes out, the same time he feels his legs go weak and his eyes roll back. Mark continues to pepper kisses along his neck, the only exposed skin his body suit would let Mark reach. Until the sweet kisses turns into long lingering kisses on golden skin and Donghyuck’s breath is ragged, his tug on Mark’s hair firmer. Mark works on a particular patch of skin on Donghyuck’s neck, completely leaving it bruised before he takes one last bite and licks the spot to soothe it enough. He leaves one last peck on Donghyuck’s parted lips.

“Shall we get dinner then?” 

Just when Donghyuck thinks their dinner would be something leaving them awkward and fidgety, he sees himself sitting from across Mark in a small diner, a stupid smile on his face as Mark’s eyes go through the menu.  How did he ever get this lucky?

“I’ll have chicken and the side dish along with coke. What about you, Hyuckie?” 

“I’ll just take the nuggets then, oh, and can I have the strawberry milkshake?” 

“Of course.” Mark nods. 

Once the dishes were served, Mark glances once at Donghyuck and chuckles lowly, something he’s been doing quite often lately. “What?”

“I just, you’re very... very pretty, have I told you that?” 

“I don’t think you have, actually” Donghyuck mumbles, shying away from Mark’s gaze, “But you make me feel like it.”

All the regret Donghyuck felt after saying the last line fades away as he sees the accomplished smile on Mark’s face. As if nothing else mattered, as if everyone is okay, and this was the happy ending Donghyuck has been anticipating. Maybe everything was okay and it’s actually going to be fine. With Mark in front of him, mirroring his goofy smile, he knows he’s done for, he’s fallen in deep and he refuses to get out. Fire has succumbed to water, but water had actually succumbed to fire way back before. Mark says things that Donghyuck’s ears just block out, in honor of looking at God’s masterpiece in front of him. The only thing he hears is his heart beating out of his chest. As though it wants to leap out and join Mark’s heart and succumb to the other’s chest. It’s weird. Bothering. He takes it anyway. Donghyuck succumbs to it anyway because he understands now. He understands just how much he feels for the other. It’s insane how all it took was for Mark to smile at him and save his life twice for him to notice how they complemented each other so much.

“I like you a lot” Donghyuck blurts out in the middle of Mark’s little rant about how chicken wasn’t fully cooked and there’s rawness inside the flesh. It was such a Mark thing to dissect his food and inspect whatever is in there. Donghyuck tries not to get distracted at the way Mark halts and looks at him dumbly, “I really like you, Mark.” 

“Thank you,” Mark says after he has recovered, a light shade of pink tinting his cheeks, “I like you much more than you think I do.” 

Donghyuck nods with a stupid grin on his face, staring as Mark proceeds to dissect his chicken even further. “Hands off, cutie.” Donghyuck mumbles, index finger lighting with a little flame. Mark raises his eyebrows before he puts his hands up in surrender. The younger only rolls his eyes.  Ridiculous . The flame on his index finger jumps from him to the chicken on Mark’s plate before it makes a tiny explosion, roasting the piece of meat just the way Mark wants it to.

“Fucking cool” Mark huffs, eyes and smile filled with amusement at the little stunt Donghyuck pulled off. The younger bathes in the affection and attention, doing a fancy little bow for Mark and his entertainment. 

That night, Mark walks Donghyuck home to his small apartment where he lives just close to the university they go to. Every once in a while Donghyuck stays at home with his father and Doyoung but most of the time Donghyuck just stays in his apartment and maybe Doyoung would drop in for his lectures. Other than that, he lives alone completely. After Donghyuck opens the door to his home sweet home, he turns back to look at Mark standing at his doorstep, albeit, a bit too awkwardly for his liking. He kisses Mark on his cheek quickly before whispering a quiet goodnight. 

“Stop acting so awkward like you didn’t have your tongue down my mouth hours ago.” 

He hates saying it out loud but it’s the only way to get Mark to snap out of it and start acting normal again. He inwardly cringes at his own words, while Mark on the other hand thrives in the thought of Donghyuck getting brave and dictating just what they did earlier. “Yeah? I did?”

Donghyuck puffs out a breath, “You did.”

“What else did I do?”  Oh,  Donghyuck hates it. Hates how Mark gets overly cocky just in a span of a few minutes. He hates the smirk on the older’s face. 

“Shut up,” Donghyuck hisses, frown etched deeper on his face, “You wanted to remind me of it, so I’m going to remind you of what you did too. Sounds fair, no?” the older continues to tease.

“No” Donghyuck whines, hitting Mark’s chest lightly, “not fair.” 

“Okay, you win because I like you so much.” Mark sighs, encircling his arms around Donghyuck’s small waist to pull him closer. He leaves a lingering kiss on the younger’s forehead and another atop his head, “Goodnight.” 

“Can I kiss you again?” Donghyuck asks. Although, before Mark answers, Donghyuck already has his lips pressed against the elder’s lips. It’s sweet, gentle, and Donghyuck wants to bathe in Mark’s affection. 

Mark deepens the kiss when he tilts his head for a more comfortable angle. His hands travel from Donghyuck’s back to his hips, rubbing comforting circles on his hipbones, successfully eliciting a sweet sound from the younger’s mouth. Mark takes it as his chance to slip his hands underneath the younger’s sweater, body suit away, he can feel the warmth of Donghyuck’s skin. Just as how golden it looks, it’s just as smooth. He pulls Donghyuck even closer as possible as the space between them would allow. His hands roam all over the younger’s skin, thriving in the warmth. Donghyuck on the other hand parts his lips to allow Mark’s tongue to lick into his mouth as he arches his back, pressing himself flushed against Mark’s coolness. They molded perfectly together, completely and utterly unbothered by their surroundings. Donghyuck’s eyes roll back when Mark starts kissing his jaw down his neck and to his collarbones. Mark thanks the gods for letting Donghyuck wear something loose, exposing the golden skin of his collarbones. 

“Wait, wait, Mark” Donghyuck rasps out, “Wait.”

“Hmm?” Mark hums, lips still pressed against the juncture between Donghyuck’s neck and shoulder. The vibration makes Donghyuck shiver, his hands buried on Mark’s head tightening around hair.

“Can we,” he hesitates, “can we go inside?” 

Mark stares at Donghyuck before he nods, and that’s how they end up on Donghyuck’s worn out couch. Donghyuck straddling Mark’s lap, his legs on either side of Mark. His hands buried deep on Mark’s hair, tugging every now and then as Mark kept his hands glued under the younger’s sweater. He bathes in Donghyuck’s warmth. It one thing to like Donghyuck’s warmth and another thing to actually feel his warmth against your skin. The soft skin feeling ecstatic against Mark’s hands so he roams. He roams his hands all over the younger’s skin until his presses the cool of his hands against the small of Donghyuck’s back. Donghyuck gasps at the sudden cool feeling, allowing Mark to dive back in to kiss him and let his tongue lick into the younger’s mouth. Their mouths molding perfectly together. Donghyuck kisses Mark just as much as the older kisses him. Feeling brave, he nibbles on the older’s bottom lip, tugging it before releasing the flesh to retract by itself where he’ll catch it in his mouth once again. He feels so drunk in affection, so warm and so comfortable he’s taken aback when Mark repositions them so he could settle on his back with Mark hovering above him. 

“So”  kiss , “fucking”  another kiss,  “pretty.” Mark ends up kissing down Donghyuck’s collarbones again, nibbling every now and then, surely leaving bruises in the morning where Doyoung would have to despise him parading around in bruises. Donghyuck’s breathing is ragged, his eyes dazed and mouth parted, slick with spit. He knows it’s messy but he couldn’t bring himself to care one bit when the boy kissing down his neck was so focused on making him feel pretty, of making him feel loved and making him feel like he’s wanted by someone this bad. 

When he moans out Mark’s name at a particular spot Mark has found along his neck, the other decides that he was done for tonight. He licks the spot to sooth the sting before dropping one last peck on the younger’s lips. 

“You’re crazy.” Donghyuck breathes out when Mark look at him with a grin.

“You ruined me, fire boy.”

“Yeah, shark boy, no shit.” 

“Now tell me about your dreams, how you want to lead the clan someday, and how you want your eggs in the morning,” Mark says, repositioning himself beside Donghyuck to wrap his arms around the younger. 

“You can’t cook.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that I want to know more about you.” 

“I love you”

“I love you more, sunshine. I always have. Water succumbs to fire without anyone, not even you, noticing.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated !!!<333


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